Youth Rx

Visible signs of aging start with the body aging on the inside as cells become less effective at signaling their power generators, the mitochondria, to make energy, which is crucial for repairing damage. Now scientists have identified a drug that helps restore this process, rapidly improving markers of aging, explains David Sinclair, a professor of genetics at Harvard Medical School and one of the researchers. When the drug was tested in old mice for just a week, the animals' inflammation levels plummeted, and their muscles lost signs of atrophy. The change in muscle tissue, such as the heart, was like a 60-year-old exhibiting the health of a 20-year-old, Sinclair says. Long-term effects on appearance, if any, have not been studied, but Sinclair hopes that the drug (which he says could be available in a few years) will extend life span and prevent age-related diseases.